‘ Respect starts in the home’
PEOPLE who grow up learning their identity from youths instead of parents may be more willing to lash out at police.
From January 1 to May 31 this year there were 58 assaults of police in the Townsville district.
This year’s figure was lower than the 66 assaults launched on officers during the same period last year, but serious assaults of police were up in 2018 ( 27 serious assaults) compared to 2017 ( 23).
One senior constable recently required facial reconstructive surgery after he was kicked in the head while attending a noise complaint, while another was left with cuts to the face after being elbowed during an arrest.
The recent assaults prompted senior officers to slam the behaviour, with Townsville police Chief Superintendent Kev Guteridge this week telling the Townsville Bulletin it was unacceptable that officers had to deal with the risk of assault during their daily work.
Psychologist Jutta Dempsey, from Directions: Learning, Behavioural and Emotional Resolutions said the foundations of respect for authority were laid in people at a very early age.
“Respect starts within the home with respect to parental authority when children are very young,” the Townsvillebased psychologist said.
She said parents instilled respect for authority as “leaders” of the family, and taught respect for others through passing values on and role modelling.
Ms Dempsey said there were a range of circumstances, including family separation, mental health or drug issues or lack of attachment to a mother, where a child’s attachment to a family was broken.
When that attachment was lost, the children often turned to their peers for security and drew on them to shape their identity.
Chief- Supt Guteridge said assaults against police were “unfortunately” a daily occurrence across the state.
He said the majority of the community were “wonderful, law- abiding people”.
For those who did assault police he said it came back to a respect factor and officers shouldn’t be expected to cop assaults as “part of the job” when other workplaces don’t.
Ms Dempsey said it was not a case of a spoiled generation as it was only a minority of children who disrespected authority.
She said it was “very difficult” to reverse a lack of respect for authority, as it became a value reinforced by those around them, especially among teenagers. She said parents often felt lost when this happened and without their guidance, the cycle continued.